Fitbit could be making a smart ring to rival the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Ring

The Google-owned wearable company could be about to enter the smart ring race

The Samsung Galaxy Ring (pictured) launches next month (Samsung/The Independent )

With the imminent launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Ring and Oura racing to launch new features for its Oura ring, the age of the smart ring has well and truly arrived. Now, the latest tech firm to throw its hat into the smart ring could be the Google-owned Fitbit.

According to a newly granted patent, the fitness wearable company known for its fitness trackers and smartwatches could be working on a smart ring. First filed in 2019, the 20-page document on a smart ring that optically measures biometric data has been officially approved in the US.

Like the Oura ring and Galaxy ring, the Fitbit ring could track sleep and exercise. The filing says that the ring would be able to track your pulse, blood pressure, glucose levels, lipid concentration, carboxyhaemoglobin levels, haemoglobin levels, SpO2 and tissue oxygenation. It would also connect to an app so that you could see all your data.

But we wouldn’t get too excited. Tech firms file hundreds of patents every year, and many products never see the light of day. Not to mention that a lot of that list, for now, sounds like science fiction. Pulse monitoring and SpO2, which track your blood oxygen levels, are the only two things readily available in smartwatches, let alone smart rings.

While blood pressure monitoring is available on some Samsung Galaxy smartwatches when paired with a blood pressure monitor, it’s not something you can do on-device. Tracking your lipid concentration, carboxyhaemoglobin levels, haemoglobin levels and tissue oxygenation requires blood tests, not non-invasive sensors found in a smart ring or watch.

While the smart ring market is heating up, and Fitbit has surely been looking at developing one of its own for a while, we’ll have to wait and see if one will be on our finger in the near future. For now, if you’re looking to ditch your fitness tracker for a smart ring, we rated the Oura ring as our favourite, and it has recently released new features.

Oura ring, generation 3: £349, Johnlewis.com

(Oura)

Released in 2021, the generation three Oura Ring is the company’s most capable yet, with blood-oxygen monitoring, workout tracking, daytime heart-rate tracking and period-cycle predictions. “If you’re looking for a sleep tracker, activity tracker or just want to know as much as you can about your body, the third-generation Oura Ring will tick a lot of your boxes in one tiny package,” our writer said in their review. “With different coloured rings, it’s arguably more stylish than a Fitbit or Garmin.”

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We’ve reviewed the best smart rings to track sleep, fitness and wellness